“Viewpoints” is a place on Chapelboro where local people are encouraged to share their unique perspectives on issues affecting our community. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work, reporting or approval of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com. If you’d like to contribute a column on an issue you’re concerned about, interesting happenings around town, reflections on local life — or anything else — send a submission to viewpoints@wchl.com.
Still Carolina? So It Seems
A perspective from Thad Williamson
What a strange two weeks it has been for Carolina Basketball fans, and anyone concerned with the University of North Carolina.
By the time it happened, the dismissal of Hubert Davis on March 24 after five years as head coach was no surprise — yet it struck some lifelong Tar Heels as akin to a death in the family.
Hubert Davis, of course was and is family, and I saw some former lettermen state that Carolina basketball would never feel the same for them. At the time, it was widely assumed that the search for a new coach would go outside the family; and decisionmakers Bubba Cunningham and Steve Newmark made it very, very clear that their priority was to get a coach who again make Carolina an elite hoops power on par with the likes of Duke and Connecticut.
For some fans, this was a long overdue move. But for others—particularly folks with ties not only to the basketball team but the university as a whole—it looked like a final break with all that was amazing about the Dean Smith Era.
Count me still among the heartbroken, and yes I’ve lost some sleep thinking about Hubert Davis and his family the last two weeks, wondering what it must feel like to have something you care about so much and have invested in so much taken from you, all because of one broken thumb on Caleb Wilson’s hand.
One close friend (who supported the decision) tried to console me that the unbroken lineage of the UNC coaching tree dating back to Frank McGuire’s 1952 arrival in Chapel Hill was longer in duration than the Soviet Union (1922-1991). He was right, though it didn’t make me feel much better.
I’ve also, against my will, found my thoughts meandering back to the fateful VCU game, both the surreal nightmare moments of the final minutes but also those back-to-back possessions in the second half when the Tar Heels, up 19 points, took slightly rushed three-pointers. (What if one of those shots went in? What if the Heels had instead attacked the hoop and gotten a layup to go up 21? Would the universe now be a different place?)
Such is the mental life of a hard-core fan. And hence I knew I could never be among those who would use the Davis departure as an occasion to kick the Carolina basketball habit. Like everyone else, I was keenly interested in, and cared a lot, about what would come next.
Quite logically, the search first targeted highly accomplished college coaches who are also relatively young. Equally logically, Tommy Lloyd and Dusty May decided to stay at powers Arizona and Michigan.
Those decisions—utterly predictable—over this past weekend raised the specter of a “failed” search, leading to this terrible thought: what if Carolina jettisoned arguably its most unique asset, its basketball family, when it didn’t really have to—and yet didn’t land an elite coach?
Count me among those who would have been unimpressed if Carolina had spent north of $10 million to buy out a college coach who had never made the Final Four. The prospect of Billy Donovan arriving from the Chicago Bulls was more appealing, but felt at best like a stopgap hire with as much chance to go bust as boom.
Those fears—voiced not only locally, but by some national voices—dissipated Monday afternoon when the at-first stunning news that Michael Malone was the choice was first reported by ESPN and then other outlets. As everyone knows by now, Malone is the former long-time coach of the Denver Nuggets who led the franchise to its first and only in NBA title in 2023.
And as everyone will soon know, his daughter plays volleyball at Carolina, and he has spent time this past season with the men’s basketball program, including attending some of Coach Davis’s practices.
It did not take eagle-eyed Carolina fans long to note that Malone had in fact appeared on an official UNC podcast back in October. In that interview, Malone talked about always having been a Carolina fan, and then offered praised for Hubert Davis, his staff, and the tradition of Carolina basketball.
Of most interest to me, Malone said the following: “What really stands out [about Hubert Davis] is how passionate he is… The amount of love and passion he’s pouring into his players, into every practice, has been incredible to watch, and I have a lot of respect for that.”
Malone shared that at an early age he learned from his father (accomplished NBA coach Brendan Malone) that a coach at heart is a teacher, whose job is to help players get better every day. He praised Davis and his staff for investing in their team not just as players, but as people, noting “When people feel that love and care, they’re willing to go the extra mile and do so much more.”
Malone also in passing referred to Dean Smith, Bill Guthridge and Roy Williams as constituting the “Mount Rushmore of coaching,” calling them “not just good, but great coaches.”
In short, Michael Malone comes off very much as someone who gets what Carolina basketball has been about, and hopefully will continue to be about in the future.
That’s an outcome I didn’t necessarily expect two weeks ago. No one will have to tell Malone about what the program is about, because he’s seen it firsthand and already brings to the table knowledge, understanding and respect for Carolina’s deep basketball tradition.
Of course, it’s also encouraging to see good words about Malone as an esteemed Xs and Os coach and a tough-nosed competitor. There’s good reason to be optimistic about the basketball part of the equation.
That some version of the “Carolina Family” is also still in the equation is an unexpected grace.
Make no mistake, some things will and should change under Coach Malone, but it can be done while showing respect and appreciation for the past and holding tight to the core values of teaching and pouring “love and passion” into players.
So is Carolina Basketball as we have all known it still a thing?
If Malone’s October 2025 interview is anything to go by, yes it is.
Welcome to the family, Coach!
Thad Williamson is author of More Than a Game: Why North Carolina Basketball Means So Much to So Many
“Viewpoints” on Chapelboro is a recurring series of community-submitted opinion columns. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work or reporting of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com.
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